Control and Effort Costs Influence the Motivational Consequences of Choice

Frontiers in Psychology
Holly Sullivan-TooleElizabeth Tricomi

Abstract

The act of making a choice, apart from any outcomes the choice may yield, has, paradoxically, been linked to both the enhancement and the detriment of intrinsic motivation. Research has implicated two factors in potentially mediating these contradictory effects: the personal control conferred by a choice and the costs associated with a choice. Across four experiments, utilizing a physical effort task disguised as a simple video game, we systematically varied costs across two levels of physical effort requirements (Low-Requirement, High-Requirement) and control over effort costs across three levels of choice (Free-Choice, Restricted-Choice, and No-Choice) to disambiguate how these factors affect the motivational consequences of choosing within an effortful task. Together, our results indicated that, in the face of effort requirements, illusory control alone may not sufficiently enhance perceptions of personal control to boost intrinsic motivation; rather, the experience of actual control may be necessary to overcome effort costs and elevate performance. Additionally, we demonstrated that conditions of illusory control, while otherwise unmotivating, can through association with the experience of free-choice, be transformed to hav...Continue Reading

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Citations

Aug 1, 2018·Journal of Health Psychology·Danielle Cosme, Elliot T Berkman
Nov 6, 2018·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Shuting MeiYa Zheng
Jun 14, 2019·Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology·Sachi IkudomeHiroki Nakamoto
Feb 21, 2018·Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience·Danielle CosmeJennifer H Pfeifer
May 11, 2019·Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience·Holly Sullivan-TooleAdriana Galván

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